Pakistan’s Education System:

Key Challenges and Policy Recommendations

UMAR I. AKHTAR
1

Global Think Tank Network

Without education it is complete darkness and with education it is light. Education is a matter of life
and death to our nation.
Quaid-e-Azam’s Message to NWFP Muslim Students Federation, April 1943

Preamble need to acquire sufficient The author is the Research

The subject of education constitutes the heart of all
development in a country. The strategic significance
of a farsighted, well-planned, widely affordable and
modern education system cannot be overlooked
by the decision makers. The creation, maintenance
and constant evolution of such a system must be
made the top priority of the state.
Introduction
The founder of Pakistan was explicit in his views
concerning the critical role and importance of
education for the prosperity and security of the
country. He recognized that the fortification and
sanctity of the state necessitated a well-educated,
humane and enlightened public that contributed
to the development of a vibrant knowledge-
based economy. In today’s world of soft-power
and digitization, coercive diplomacy and swings
in global opinion can swiftly alter a country’s
course of destiny through evolving propaganda,
perpetuation of myths, false narratives and
other forms of subterfuge.1 In this increasingly
sophisticated and perilous atmosphere, citizens
wisdom and discernment & Policy Analyst at the
to correctly interpret NUST Global Think
mutating threats and Tank Network and can be
contacted at
challenges that continue umar.akhtar@nust.edu.pk
to have a destabilizing
effect on them and their
nation.
This ability to correctly decipher and deal with the
complex challenges of today’s globalizing world
should be the natural outcome of a cutting-edge,
well-rounded and untainted education system that
promotes intellectual acumen and critical thought
coupled with good character, magnanimity and
altruism. The collective consciousness of such a
society would be infused with the spirit of inquiry
and it would bear the confidence and ability to
create and innovate scientifically across multi-
dimensional planes. An ideal education system
would benefit all sections of society by promoting
the inner and outer enhancement of the human
being and by extension of society as a whole, leading
to peace and equitable economic development.
A human-centric form of development that
cultivates citizens both morally and intellectually
would result in greater socio-cultural harmony
 and well-being. Ultimately, a holistic approach of
this nature should encourage the acquisition of
deeper knowledge, awareness and wisdom which is
arguably synonymous with the ‘light’ that Quaid-e-
Azam refers to in the aforementioned quote.
Current Situation
A look at Pakistan’s standing in health and primary
education on the Global Competitiveness Index
(GCI) in 2016 reveals that the country stands at a
low 128 among 138 countries.2 In higher education
and training it is currently ranked 123rd. These
sorry statistics mirror poor educational outcomes
as observed in a recent report stating that there are
24 million out-of-school children in Pakistan, the
second highest figure in the world after Nigeria.3
According to the annual Pakistan Education Statistics
report for 2014-2015, of the 50.8 million children
2 aged 5 to 16 in Pakistan, 47 per cent do not receive
any formal education.4 This is a striking example of
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how our public education system has been a complete
failure.5 The vision of Quaid-e-Azam and the initial
educational goals envisaged by the founding fathers
have not been achieved. This needs to be remedied
with a great sense of urgency.
According to World Bank, the government allocated
an estimated 2.49% of total GDP for education in
2013. An article published in Dawn last year stated
that the country’s expenditure on education was
the lowest in South Asia.6 This partly explains the
low literacy rate of 58%, a figure that falls short of
the target of 88% that was set by the Millennium
Development Goals (MDG).7 This figure is also
misleading when considering that successive
governments in Pakistan have focused on functional
literacy rather than critical literacy.
In the recent report by Quacquarelli Symonds
(QS), a British higher education ranking agency,
that compares the standards of higher education in
50 countries, Pakistan ranks dead last with a score
of 9.2. The U.S. and U.K ranked top with scores of
100 and 98.5 respectively, while India stood at 24th
with a score of 60.9.8 Despite the government’s claims
to have invested billions in the country’s education
system, Pakistan secured the lowest ranking of the
fifty countries included in the list. Other rankings
reveal great differences in the quality of education
within and between provinces.9 According to the
former UNDP Country Director, Marc Andre
Franche, rankings highlight the systematic
inequalities among districts and the regions in
Pakistan and the state of education in the districts
of South Punjab, Balochistan and Fata is worse than
some of the Sub-Saharan African countries, while
some districts of North Punjab emulate developed
countries like Canada. It can be argued that Pakistan
has a system akin to an ‘Educational Apartheid’
where the English-language based education system
for the elite is completely different from the low-
quality curriculum designed for the poor.10 This
stark contrast reinforces a divisive socio-economic
and cultural reality where social mobility for talented
individuals from poor backgrounds remains limited
and in many ways restricted. This system is cynical
considering the notion that education is supposed
to create a level playing field that has an equalizing
effect in terms of social and economic outcomes.
Historical Basis of Current
Shortcomings
There is a common misconception about the Sub-
Continent’s education system prior to British
intervention. The myth of a practically non-
existent public education system is perpetuated
to this day, implying that the indigenous people of
the subcontinent, prior to European intervention,
were benighted, ignoble, illiterate and uncivilized.
Research however indicates that evidence is at odds
with what is commonly believed.11 Various accounts
reveal that the pre-British system of education was
advanced for its time and people from all walks of life
would travel to the sub-continent in search of wisdom
and learning.12 In those days it was considered a
religious duty for both Muslims and Hindus to
support learned intellectuals so as to reduce their
worldly burdens, allowing them to focus on their
quest for knowledge. This support was freely given,
especially by the well-to-do, because there was a keen
general consciousness in those days, at least amongst
denizens of the urban centers of the Sub-continent
that production and dissemination of knowledge
was vital for the preservation and progress of society.
Sources reveal that the pre-British urban culture of
the Sub-continent culture was in fact intellectually
vibrant with libraries, public debates and intellectual
competitions.13
The destruction of the Sub-continent’s education
system was part of the deliberate colonial policy
to subjugate and dominate.14 The demolition was
so complete that the faintest memory of a once
strong education system prior to British occupation
barely lingers. The abrupt replacement of the
native educational system with one of a different
philosophical ethos, albeit in certain technical ways
more advanced, led to the loss of self-confidence that
is the hallmark of any good educational system. The
current inquiry is not motivated by an obscurantist
desire to glorify the old and devalue modernity. As
a result of a disruptive socio-historical process of
change, today’s colleges and universities are viewed
as a means of gaining employment mainly rather
than as centers that promote balanced education
inspired by intellectual and spiritual growth and
enlightenment. This “Neo-Macaulyist” educational
regime is continuing to promote educated dullness
and inferiority complexes due to the perpetuation of
prejudiced perspectives and automatic rather than
deliberate discrimination of students based on their
socio-economic standing in life.15
This calls for a fundamental refurbishment of our
education system. While addressing the glaring
gaps and dangers that currently exist in our system
we must prioritize the spirit of inquiry and critical
thought rather than rote learning, while promoting
character-building and moral development in light of
Quaid’s vision.
Challenges
1. Pakistan’s standing on the GCI is dismal
when compared to other countries in the region
and beyond. This shows that current educational
outcomes are poor and regressive. Remedying this
situation is the responsibility and strategic duty of
the government of Pakistan.
2. Official statistics on education are unreliable.
16
3. There appears to be a general gap between
professed ideas and actual outcomes. There is
interference with appointments, promotions and
transfers in schools, colleges and universities.17
4. Lack of consistency – every new government
tries to formulate a new education policy instead of
continuing or improving upon the previous one.18
5. A very low budget is allocated for Education (2.5%
of GDP). This problem is further aggravated by the
fact that there is a lack of capacity to absorb funds.
The money is often spent incorrectly with serious
implementation gaps often due to misappropriation.19
Poor training of implementing bodies exacerbates
the problem of improper utilization of resources.
There is a general problem of poor governance and
inadequate financial resources.
6. There are several reasons why Pakistan’s Higher
Education was rated so low in the QS ranking
system. Although there is a quantitative expansion of
universities, the quality remains an issue. Problems
include low quality facilities, faculty, curriculum
and teaching dynamics that focus on a memory
oriented system of evaluation. Most buildings in the
public sector are old or poorly maintained. Hiring
of teachers is not always meritocratic in nature.
Academic freedom of faculty in the public sector is
at times and teacher salaries are low. The number of
PhD’s in our academic institutions is unsatisfactory 3
and few faculty are engaged in meaningful research.
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Limited resources coupled with the absence of strong
research tradition creates a cycle where fresh ideas
are ignored and the status quo is supported. It should
also be noted that a very limited segment of the
population has access to higher education.20
7. High dropout rates caused by various factors are
another serious challenge and this keeps up the cycle
of illiteracy in Pakistan.
8. Policy reforms by foreign consultants/donors are
based on limited understanding and ignorance of the
complexities and nuances of local ground realities.21
9. Top down approach to policy making without
enough horizontal and participatory consultation.22
10. There is a shortage of teachers with the
total recently recorded as 1.5 million. This shortage
is more evident in the public sector and the matter
becomes worse when considering that due to poor
monitoring and governance, many teachers are often
absent from their classes. According to the Task
Force for Education, 2011, 15-20 percent of teachers
were not teaching in their respective class-rooms on
any given day.23
11. Basic facilities, infrastructure and drinking
water are lacking. The lack of resources makes it
difficult to attain targets set in policy documents.
Furthermore, inadequate boundaries for safety
 purposes often discourage parents from sending resources are not misappropriated and utilized for
their daughters to school.24 the desired purpose of improving the system.

12. There are competing governance units
with little internal coordination – this fragmented
approach to achieving different initiatives in
achieving universal primary education, literacy and
female education is also noted to have hindered the
process of implementation.25
13. Monitoring and Evaluation: Most projects
in literacy, UPE and female education lack effective
monitoring systems. Projects often end without
significant sustainable changes in target areas.
Recommendations
1. The current schooling system can be roughly
4 classified into six tiers. The least privileged children
from rural sectors study in set-ups where there
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3. Donors should present their plans and clearly
define their expected outputs, outcomes and impacts
with the central government. After this is properly
vetted, only then should they carry out their
activities in the educational sector. There should be
a monitoring and evaluation process carried out by
intelligentsia to ensure that donors are keeping track
with their goals.
4. As part of a process of revamping the higher
education system and its institutions, low quality
facilities must be upgraded and given due attention.
Faculty should go through a rigorous screening
process and teachers should only be hired on merit.
The curriculum should be designed to inspire
creative thinking as well as the spirit of inquiry while
being in-tune with the latest scientific developments
and changes in the global economy. It should

is practically no physical infrastructure, security

inspire students to think innovatively about ways
or qualified teachers. The learning outcomes are
to contribute and develop a superior social and
unsatisfactory and rarely measured in these schools.
political system that is not constrained by outdated
The second tier consists of government schools based
and colonized modes of thought. The teaching
on low-quality curriculum. The third tier comprises
dynamics should not be focused on rote learning as
semi-governmental educational institutions that are
this arguably dulls the mind and supports the status-
often NGO-assisted. The fourth tier is that of middle
quo.
class, private educational institutes. The fifth tier,
comparable in standard to tier-4 schools, contains
5. Most higher education buildings in the public
Armed Forces-sponsored schools and institutes.
sector will need to have their infrastructure
Finally, for a privileged minority-elite and upper
upgraded. Academic freedom of faculty in the
middle-class are the top schools where standards
public sector should be protected and ensured and
are generally high, although not necessarily cutting-
sufficient financial resources should be utilized for
edge. These relatively better schools have better
the increase of teacher’s salaries. Research should
learning outcomes but create a sense of superiority
be geared towards economic and socio-political
as well as alienation from the rest of society. A system
development and evolution and scientific research
of education needs to be devised where the rich and
needs to be cutting-edge, keeping abreast with latest
poor alike are to study under the same high standard
developments in metaphysics, digital technologies
curriculum. This enhanced and nationally unified
and epi-genetics.
curriculum would be adopted by both the public
and private sectors. English, being the international
6. The dramatic rise of Islam 14 centuries ago
language of commerce, will remain essential and will
can be correlated with the instrumental teachings
have to be prioritized for all members of society. The
of Prophet Muhammad (s) and his exceptionally
national language must also be made compulsory
refined disposition. His lessons resulted in the
as a means of preserving our unique culture and
metamorphosis of a group of unruly and uncivilized
heritage.26
nomads, instilling in them the highest ideals and
values. In the process they acquired wisdom,
2. A larger portion of the GDP will need to
knowledge, spiritual enrichment and elevation. This
be allocated for education at all levels. A strict
positive change also caused them to gain temporal
monitoring process will also need to be established
power and influence, becoming leaders in the world
at national and sub-national levels to ensure that the
for a thousand years. It is arguably the demise of
good character among Muslims today which is a
reason for their current wretched state.27 Keeping
this in view, the nation should develop a system that
incorporates character-building lessons based on
sublime values and universal humanitarian laws. The
building up of good character and morality should
be taken up as a responsibility of the state and the
schooling system should be the means by which
good behavior is cultivated in citizens from a young
age.
7. Today’s knowledge economies require workers
to be increasingly flexible and dynamic. This means
to think of learning as a life-long process. The
lifelong education conception has been popularized
by UNESCO and The Organization for Economic
Co-operation and Development (OECD), though
with differing objectives. The European Union
defines lifelong learning as ‘all purposeful learning
activity, undertaken on an ongoing basis with the
aim of improving knowledge, skills and competence’.
Higher Education can focus on developing more
Continuous Professional Education (CPE) programs
that contribute to the continual evolution of applied
knowledge and practice.
8. Citizens at the district level should be more
involved and give regular feedback to policy makers
regarding the public education system. An online
rating mechanism should be developed where
parents and students can engage with policy makers
and apprise them of their concerns. This would not
be possible to implement in very poor rural areas and
so each district should set up ‘Education Councils’
comprised of learned men that must protect
education standards and seek to ensure superior
learning outcomes through a dedicated monitoring
and evaluation process . This must be in accordance
with the standards, norms and expected outcomes
decided by the central government.
9. There should be a strong focus on youth
development programs as part of long-term national
strategy to enhance livelihood skills.
10. Successful private sector and non-
governmental programs in the rural sector aimed
at alleviating poverty through human resource
development should be scaled up. Successes could
be applied more comprehensively and on a larger
scale. Skill development that leads to self-sufficiency
is the kind of education that empowers inter-
generationally.
11. The overarching standards, norms and
expected outcomes should ultimately be set by the
central government as a national policy. This would
help ensure cohesion and unity among citizens of
Pakistan.
12. Countries that made their economic
base stronger spent more heavily on primary and
secondary education. Pakistan needs to do the same
by allocating more finances for this purpose. To
prevent misappropriation and poor implementation,
a standardized monitoring and evaluation process
should be established and incorporated across the
country down to the district level to ensure that the
desired educational outputs, outcomes and impacts
5
are achieved.
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13. According to UNICEF around 4 million
orphans are living in Pakistan. Provincial
governments and international organizations
currently work for providing shelter to them but only
10% of them are adequately protected and they are
mostly residing in Madarasahs. If a universal high
quality education standard is to be established, the
most vulnerable section of society, i.e. The orphans
should be given the same privilege and opportunity.
This would lead to a more just and equitable society.
References
[1] McGlory, The Soft Power 30: A Global Ranking of Soft
Power 2016.
[2] Pakistan’s Ranking in Global Competitiveness Index
Improves but Still Remains in Bottom 20 Economies.
Pakistan Today September 28, 2016, Accessed March 3
2017,
http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2016/09/28/pakistans-
ranking-in-global-competitiveness-index-improves-but-
remains-in-bottom-20-economies/
[3] Pakistan has 24 million out of school children,” The
Express Tribune, February 26, 2016, Accessed March 8,
2017,
https://tribune.com.pk/story/1055025/pakistan-has-24-
million-out-of-school-children/
[4] ibid.
 [5] ibid.

[6] “Pakistan’s education spending lowest in South Asia”, Dawn, April 28, 2016, Accessed, March 8, 2017
https://www.dawn.com/news/1254909

[7] ibid.

[8] “Pakistan has world’s weakest higher education system, say QS rankings”, The Express Tribune, May 20, 2016,
Accessed March 1, 2017
https://tribune.com.pk/story/1106840/pakistan-worlds-weakest-higher-education-system-say-qs-rankings/

[9] ibid.

[10] Educational Apartheid, The News, July 12, 2014, Accessed March 8, 2017
https://www.thenews.com.pk/archive/print/513759-education-apartheid

[11] Zaman, Asad. “The Subaltern’s Tale,” The Express Tribune, December 6, 2010, Accessed February 21, 2017,
https://tribune.com.pk/story/86279/the-subalterns-tale/

[12]“Our Traditional Educational Systems”. Accessed February 23, 2017.

http://asadzaman.net
6
[13] ibid.
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[14] ibid.

[15] Shah, Ali. “Political Economy of Educated Dullness,” Pakistan Today, September 30, 2011 Accessed March 5,
2017,
http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2011/09/30/the-political-economy-of-educated-dullness/

[16] Siddiqui, Shahid. Education Policies in Pakistan: Politics, Projections and Practices. Karachi: Oxford, 2013.

[17] ibid.

[18] ibid.

[19] ibid.

[20] ibid.

[21] ibid.

[22] ibid.

[23] ibid.

[24] ibid.

[25] ibid.

[26] The six-tier classification of Pakistan’s schooling system was proposed by Mr. Amer Hashmi, President, GTTN

[27] Zaman, Asad. Building Character to Build Nations. The Express Tribune, June 23, 2011, Accessed February 20,
2017,
https://tribune.com.pk/story/194841/building-character-to-build-nations/
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Global Think Tank Network

This material is shared by Global Think Tank Network (GTTN), a key national policy research, analysis, and advocacy initiative, based in the National
University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Islamabad. The fundamental objective of GTTN is to develop solutions and recommend multi-
partisan public policies for social, economic, ethical, and equitable development of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, as envisioned by Quaid-e-Azam
Muhammad Ali Jinnah, by associating scholars, professionals, and academicians, not only from Pakistan – particularly from NUST – but, wherever
possible, from all over the world. The Board of Directors of GTTN comprises: Rector NUST, Lieutenant General Naweed Zaman (retd.) as Co-Chair;
Professor Emeritus (Senior Advisor) NUST & Former Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Dr. Akram Sheikh as Co-Chair; Advisor NUST &
President GTTN, Mr. Amer Hashmi; Former Governor, Balochistan & KP, Mr. Owais Ghani; Editor-in-Chief, Blue Chip Magazine, Mr. Humayun
Gauhar; Former Member Infrastructure, Planning Commission, Dr. Asad Ali Shah; and, NUST Pro-Rector, Mr. Irfan Akhtar as Board Secretary/
Treasurer.

Disclaimer: The views expressed herein are solely those of the author and do not reflect the views of NUST or GTTN.